Dynamic Display of Filter Criteria

ABSTRACT

Example techniques involve a dynamic display of filter criteria on a control device. In one aspect, the control device retrieves first search results from a plurality of streaming media services and displays an interface including a first region that includes selectable controls corresponding to respective first filter criteria of a first set of filter criteria for filtering the retrieved first search results according to respective streaming media services and a second region that includes a graphical representation of (i) the first search results corresponding to a given first filter criteria and (ii) metadata identifiers that separate the retrieved first search results into sets corresponding to respective types of metadata. When a given selectable control corresponding to a particular streaming media service is selected, the interface is updated to display, in place of the first search results, a graphical representation of second search results from the particular streaming media service.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to, and is acontinuation of, U.S. non-provisional Patent application Ser. No.15/893,063, filed on Feb. 9, 2018, entitled “Dynamic Display of FilterCriteria,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/893,063 claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to, and is a continuation of, U.S.non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/218,546, filed on Mar.18, 2014, entitled “Dynamic Display of Filter Criteria,” and issued asU.S. Pat. No. 9,892,118 on Feb. 13, 2018, which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tomethods, systems, products, features, services, and other elementsdirected to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loudsetting were limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed for one ofits first patent applications, entitled “Method for Synchronizing AudioPlayback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering a mediaplayback system for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HiFi System enablespeople to experience music from many sources via one or more networkedplayback devices. Through a software control application installed on asmartphone, tablet, or computer, one can play what he or she wants inany room that has a networked playback device. Additionally, using thecontroller, for example, different songs can be streamed to each roomwith a playback device, rooms can be grouped together for synchronousplayback, or the same song can be heard in all rooms synchronously.

Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to bea need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhancethe listening experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an example media playback system configuration in whichcertain embodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device;

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device;

FIG. 4 shows an example controller interface;

FIG. 5 shows an example flow diagram of an example method;

FIGS. 6A and 6B each show examples of graphical displays according tothe example method shown in FIG. 5; and

FIGS. 7A-7C each show examples of graphical displays according to theexample method shown in FIG. 5.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but it is understood that the inventions are not limited to thearrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

The playback of media items (e.g., songs, videos, etc.) has become aneveryday activity for many people. Accordingly, there are now many mediasources from which a user may search for or otherwise access mediaitems. For example, there are various streaming media sources, such asPandora® Radio, Spotify®, Songza®, Slacker® Radio, Google Play™, andiTunes Radio℠, among others. As the number of media-source options hasincreased, the complexity of media-item search results has likewiseincreased. In order to improve user experience, it may be desirable tomore conveniently view search results of media items provided by suchmedia sources, and to filter such results to help find a particularmedia item. Embodiments described herein provide for a dynamic displayof filter criteria on a control device of a media playback system tohelp provide such a convenient way to view search results.

For example, a control device of a media playback system may provide auser interface from which a user may control the media playback system.One operation that a user may perform with such a user interface mayinvolve searching for a media item that may ultimately be played back bythe media playback system. In such an operation, a user may search forthe media item directly (e.g., by inputting the media item title or aportion thereof) or a user may search for the media item indirectly(e.g., by first searching for an artist name, album title, etc.).

In any event, after the control device receives a search input from theuser, the control device may then return search results to the user. Thesearch results may be displayed in a number of ways and may include avariety of information. In one example, the search results may identifyone or more media sources that provide one or more media items that arerelevant to the user's search, and the search results may also identifyrelevant media-item information (e.g., artist names, albums titles,track titles, etc.).

The search results may be displayed along with a first set of filtercriteria that may be used by the user to focus and/or organize theuser's search. For instance, the first set of filter criteria may allowthe user to view a subset of the search results. Further, the first setof filter criteria may allow the user to sort the search results basedon particular classifications. For example, the first set of filtercriteria may include Artists, Tracks, Albums, Playlists, Stations,Shows, and Genres. As such, the first set of filter criteria may allowthe user to sort the search results by, for example, artist name.

At some point, the user may select a particular media source from amongwhich the search results were generated. Such a selection may indicatethat the user is interested in viewing search results associated withthe selected media source. Based on this selection, the control devicemay determine a second set of filter criteria and then return filterresults along with the second set of filter criteria. The filter resultsmay include information from the search results that is associated withthe particular media source, and the second set of filter criteria maybe used to further focus the filter results.

The second set of filter criteria may differ from the first set offilter criteria. For example, the second set of filter criteria mayinclude: Artists, Genres, and Tracks. Furthermore, the second set offilter criteria may reflect filter criteria that are related to theselected media source. For example, the second set of filter criteriamay only include criteria that are provided by the selected media sourcewhen a user searches the selected media source's media library. As such,the second set of filter criteria may allow the user to view aspects ofand organize the filter results in manner tailored to the selected mediasource.

As indicated above, examples provided herein relate to a dynamic displayof filter criteria on a control device of a media playback system. Inone aspect, a method is provided. The method involves: (a) causing agraphical display of a computing device to display (i) a first set offilter criteria and (ii) search results that comprise a plurality ofmedia-source identifiers that identify a plurality of respective mediasources, (b) receiving by the computing device selection data thatindicates a selection of one of the plurality of media-sourceidentifiers, (c) determining by the computing device a second set offilter criteria based on the selected media-source identifier, where thesecond set of filter criteria is different from the first set of filtercriteria, and (d) causing the graphical display to display thedetermined second set of filter criteria.

In another aspect, a device is provided. The device includes a graphicaldisplay, an input interface, a non-transitory computer-readable medium,and program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readablemedium and executable by at least one processor to cause the computingdevice to: (a) cause the graphical display to display (i) a first set offilter criteria and (ii) search results that comprise a plurality ofmedia-source identifiers that identify a plurality of respective mediasources, (b) receive by the input interface selection data thatindicates a selection of one of the plurality of media-sourceidentifiers, (c) determine a second set of filter criteria based on theselected media-source identifier, where the second set of filtercriteria is different from the first set of filter criteria, and (d)cause the graphical display to display the determined second set offilter criteria.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable memory isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium havinginstructions stored thereon that are executable by at least oneprocessor. The instructions include instructions for (a) causing agraphical display of a computing device to display (i) a first set offilter criteria and (ii) search results that comprise a plurality ofmedia-source identifiers that identify a plurality of respective mediasources, (b) receiving by the computing device selection data thatindicates a selection of one of the plurality of media-sourceidentifiers, (c) determining by the computing device a second set offilter criteria based on the selected media-source identifier, where thesecond set of filter criteria is different from the first set of filtercriteria, and (d) causing the graphical display to display thedetermined second set of filter criteria.

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thisdisclosure includes numerous other embodiments.

II. Example Operating Environment

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration of a media playback system 100 inwhich one or more embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced orimplemented. The media playback system 100 as shown is associated withan example home environment having several rooms and spaces, such as forexample, a master bedroom, an office, a dining room, and a living room.As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the media playback system 100includes playback devices 102-124, control devices 126 and 128, and awired or wireless network router 130.

Further discussions relating to the different components of the examplemedia playback system 100 and how the different components may interactto provide a user with a media experience may be found in the followingsections. While discussions herein may generally refer to the examplemedia playback system 100, technologies described herein are not limitedto applications within, among other things, the home environment asshown in FIG. 1. For instance, the technologies described herein may beuseful in environments where multi-zone audio may be desired, such as,for example, a commercial setting like a restaurant, mall or airport, avehicle like a sports utility vehicle (SUV), bus or car, a ship or boat,an airplane, and so on.

a. Example Playback Devices

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device200 that may be configured to be one or more of the playback devices102-124 of the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1. The playback device200 may include a processor 202, software components 204, memory 206,audio processing components 208, audio amplifier(s) 210, speaker(s) 212,and a network interface 214 including wireless interface(s) 216 andwired interface(s) 218. In one case, the playback device 200 may notinclude the speaker(s) 212, but rather a speaker interface forconnecting the playback device 200 to external speakers. In anothercase, the playback device 200 may include neither the speaker(s) 212 northe audio amplifier(s) 210, but rather an audio interface for connectingthe playback device 200 to an external audio amplifier or audio-visualreceiver.

In one example, the processor 202 may be a clock-driven computingcomponent configured to process selection data according to instructionsstored in the memory 206. The memory 206 may be a tangiblecomputer-readable medium configured to store instructions executable bythe processor 202. For instance, the memory 206 may be data storage thatcan be loaded with one or more of the software components 204 executableby the processor 202 to achieve certain functions. In one example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 retrieving audio data froman audio source or another playback device. In another example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 sending audio data toanother device or playback device on a network. In yet another example,the functions may involve pairing of the playback device 200 with one ormore playback devices to create a multi-channel audio environment.

Certain functions may involve the playback device 200 synchronizingplayback of audio content with one or more other playback devices.During synchronous playback, a listener will preferably not be able toperceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content bythe playback device 200 and the one or more other playback devices. U.S.Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizingoperations among a plurality of independently clocked digital dataprocessing devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, providesin more detail some examples for audio playback synchronization amongplayback devices.

The memory 206 may further be configured to store data associated withthe playback device 200, such as one or more zones and/or zone groupsthe playback device 200 is a part of, audio sources accessible by theplayback device 200, or a playback queue that the playback device 200(or some other playback device) may be associated with. The data may bestored as one or more state variables that are periodically updated andused to describe the state of the playback device 200. The memory 206may also include the data associated with the state of the other devicesof the media system, and shared from time to time among the devices sothat one or more of the devices have the most recent data associatedwith the system. Other embodiments are also possible.

The audio processing components 208 may include one or moredigital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, anaudio enhancement component or a digital signal processor (DSP), and soon. In one embodiment, one or more of the audio processing components208 may be a subcomponent of the processor 202. In one example, audiocontent may be processed and/or intentionally altered by the audioprocessing components 208 to produce audio signals. The produced audiosignals may then be provided to the audio amplifier(s) 210 foramplification and playback through speaker(s) 212. Particularly, theaudio amplifier(s) 210 may include devices configured to amplify audiosignals to a level for driving one or more of the speakers 212. Thespeaker(s) 212 may include an individual transducer (e.g., a “driver”)or a complete speaker system involving an enclosure with one or moredrivers. A particular driver of the speaker(s) 212 may include, forexample, a subwoofer (e.g., for low frequencies), a mid-range driver(e.g., for middle frequencies), and/or a tweeter (e.g., for highfrequencies). In some cases, each transducer in the one or more speakers212 may be driven by an individual corresponding audio amplifier of theaudio amplifier(s) 210. In addition to producing analog signals forplayback by the playback device 200, the audio processing components 208may be configured to process audio content to be sent to one or moreother playback devices for playback.

Audio content to be processed and/or played back by the playback device200 may be received from an external source, such as via an audioline-in input connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-inconnection) or the network interface 214.

The network interface 214 may be configured to facilitate a data flowbetween the playback device 200 and one or more other devices on a datanetwork. As such, the playback device 200 may be configured to receiveaudio content over the data network from one or more other playbackdevices in communication with the playback device 200, network deviceswithin a local area network, or audio content sources over a wide areanetwork such as the Internet. In one example, the audio content andother signals transmitted and received by the playback device 200 may betransmitted in the form of digital packet data containing an InternetProtocol (IP)-based source address and IP-based destination addresses.In such a case, the network interface 214 may be configured to parse thedigital packet data such that the data destined for the playback device200 is properly received and processed by the playback device 200.

As shown, the network interface 214 may include wireless interface(s)216 and wired interface(s) 218. The wireless interface(s) 216 mayprovide network interface functions for the playback device 200 towirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., other playbackdevice(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), network device(s), control device(s)within a data network the playback device 200 is associated with) inaccordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wireless standardincluding IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4Gmobile communication standard, and so on). The wired interface(s) 218may provide network interface functions for the playback device 200 tocommunicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordancewith a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3). While the networkinterface 214 shown in FIG. 2 includes both wireless interface(s) 216and wired interface(s) 218, the network interface 214 may in someembodiments include only wireless interface(s) or only wiredinterface(s).

In one example, the playback device 200 and one other playback devicemay be paired to play two separate audio components of audio content.For instance, playback device 200 may be configured to play a leftchannel audio component, while the other playback device may beconfigured to play a right channel audio component, thereby producing orenhancing a stereo effect of the audio content. The paired playbackdevices (also referred to as “bonded playback devices”) may further playaudio content in synchrony with other playback devices.

In another example, the playback device 200 may be sonicallyconsolidated with one or more other playback devices to form a single,consolidated playback device. A consolidated playback device may beconfigured to process and reproduce sound differently than anunconsolidated playback device or playback devices that are paired,because a consolidated playback device may have additional speakerdrivers through which audio content may be rendered. For instance, ifthe playback device 200 is a playback device designed to render lowfrequency range audio content (i.e. a subwoofer), the playback device200 may be consolidated with a playback device designed to render fullfrequency range audio content. In such a case, the full frequency rangeplayback device, when consolidated with the low frequency playbackdevice 200, may be configured to render only the mid and high frequencycomponents of audio content, while the low frequency range playbackdevice 200 renders the low frequency component of the audio content. Theconsolidated playback device may further be paired with a singleplayback device or yet another consolidated playback device.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered)for sale certain playback devices including a “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,”“PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any otherpast, present, and/or future playback devices may additionally oralternatively be used to implement the playback devices of exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, it is understood that aplayback device is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 2 orto the SONOS product offerings. For example, a playback device mayinclude a wired or wireless headphone. In another example, a playbackdevice may include or interact with a docking station for personalmobile media playback devices. In yet another example, a playback devicemay be integral to another device or component such as a television, alighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use.

b. Example Playback Zone Configurations

Referring back to the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, theenvironment may have one or more playback zones, each with one or moreplayback devices. The media playback system 100 may be established withone or more playback zones, after which one or more zones may be added,or removed to arrive at the example configuration shown in FIG. 1. Eachzone may be given a name according to a different room or space such asan office, bathroom, master bedroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room,living room, and/or balcony. In one case, a single playback zone mayinclude multiple rooms or spaces. In another case, a single room orspace may include multiple playback zones.

As shown in FIG. 1, the balcony, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office,and bedroom zones each have one playback device, while the living roomand master bedroom zones each have multiple playback devices. In theliving room zone, playback devices 104, 106, 108, and 110 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as one or more bonded playback devices, as one or moreconsolidated playback devices, or any combination thereof. Similarly, inthe case of the master bedroom, playback devices 122 and 124 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as a bonded playback device, or as a consolidated playbackdevice.

In one example, one or more playback zones in the environment of FIG. 1may each be playing different audio content. For instance, the user maybe grilling in the balcony zone and listening to hip hop music beingplayed by the playback device 102 while another user may be preparingfood in the kitchen zone and listening to classical music being playedby the playback device 114. In another example, a playback zone may playthe same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. Forinstance, the user may be in the office zone where the playback device118 is playing the same rock music that is being playing by playbackdevice 102 in the balcony zone. In such a case, playback devices 102 and118 may be playing the rock music in synchrony such that the user mayseamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) enjoy the audiocontent that is being played out-loud while moving between differentplayback zones. Synchronization among playback zones may be achieved ina manner similar to that of synchronization among playback devices, asdescribed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395.

As suggested above, the zone configurations of the media playback system100 may be dynamically modified, and in some embodiments, the mediaplayback system 100 supports numerous configurations. For instance, if auser physically moves one or more playback devices to or from a zone,the media playback system 100 may be reconfigured to accommodate thechange(s). For instance, if the user physically moves the playbackdevice 102 from the balcony zone to the office zone, the office zone maynow include both the playback device 118 and the playback device 102.The playback device 102 may be paired or grouped with the office zoneand/or renamed if so desired via a control device such as the controldevices 126 and 128. On the other hand, if the one or more playbackdevices are moved to a particular area in the home environment that isnot already a playback zone, a new playback zone may be created for theparticular area.

Further, different playback zones of the media playback system 100 maybe dynamically combined into zone groups or split up into individualplayback zones. For instance, the dining room zone and the kitchen zone114 may be combined into a zone group for a dinner party such thatplayback devices 112 and 114 may render audio content in synchrony. Onthe other hand, the living room zone may be split into a television zoneincluding playback device 104, and a listening zone including playbackdevices 106, 108, and 110, if the user wishes to listen to music in theliving room space while another user wishes to watch television.

c. Example Control Devices

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device 300that may be configured to be one or both of the control devices 126 and128 of the media playback system 100. As shown, the control device 300may include a processor 302, memory 304, a network interface 306, and auser interface 308. In one example, the control device 300 may be adedicated controller for the media playback system 100. In anotherexample, the control device 300 may be a network device on which mediaplayback system controller application software may be installed, suchas for example, an iPhone™ iPad™ or any other smart phone, tablet ornetwork device (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac™).

The processor 302 may be configured to perform functions relevant tofacilitating user access, control, and configuration of the mediaplayback system 100. The memory 304 may be configured to storeinstructions executable by the processor 302 to perform those functions.The memory 304 may also be configured to store the media playback systemcontroller application software and other data associated with the mediaplayback system 100 and the user.

In one example, the network interface 306 may be based on an industrystandard (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3,wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on). Thenetwork interface 306 may provide a means for the control device 300 tocommunicate with other devices in the media playback system 100. In oneexample, data and information (e.g., such as a state variable) may becommunicated between control device 300 and other devices via thenetwork interface 306. For instance, playback zone and zone groupconfigurations in the media playback system 100 may be received by thecontrol device 300 from a playback device or another network device, ortransmitted by the control device 300 to another playback device ornetwork device via the network interface 306. In some cases, the othernetwork device may be another control device.

Playback device control commands such as volume control and audioplayback control may also be communicated from the control device 300 toa playback device via the network interface 306. As suggested above,changes to configurations of the media playback system 100 may also beperformed by a user using the control device 300. The configurationchanges may include adding/removing one or more playback devices to/froma zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forminga bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devicesfrom a bonded or consolidated player, among others. Accordingly, thecontrol device 300 may sometimes be referred to as a controller, whetherthe control device 300 is a dedicated controller or a network device onwhich media playback system controller application software isinstalled.

The user interface 308 of the control device 300 may be configured tofacilitate user access and control of the media playback system 100, byproviding a controller interface such as the controller interface 400shown in FIG. 4. The controller interface 400 includes a playbackcontrol region 410, a playback zone region 420, a playback status region430, a playback queue region 440, and an audio content sources region450. The user interface 400 as shown is just one example of a userinterface that may be provided on a network device such as the controldevice 300 of FIG. 3 (and/or the control devices 126 and 128 of FIG. 1)and accessed by users to control a media playback system such as themedia playback system 100. Other user interfaces of varying formats,styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented onone or more network devices to provide comparable control access to amedia playback system.

The playback control region 410 may include selectable (e.g., by way oftouch or by using a cursor) icons to cause playback devices in aselected playback zone or zone group to play or pause, fast forward,rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode,enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode. The playback controlregion 410 may also include selectable icons to modify equalizationsettings, and playback volume, among other possibilities.

The playback zone region 420 may include representations of playbackzones within the media playback system 100. In some embodiments, thegraphical representations of playback zones may be selectable to bringup additional selectable icons to manage or configure the playback zonesin the media playback system, such as a creation of bonded zones,creation of zone groups, separation of zone groups, and renaming of zonegroups, among other possibilities.

For example, as shown, a “group” icon may be provided within each of thegraphical representations of playback zones. The “group” icon providedwithin a graphical representation of a particular zone may be selectableto bring up options to select one or more other zones in the mediaplayback system to be grouped with the particular zone. Once grouped,playback devices in the zones that have been grouped with the particularzone will be configured to play audio content in synchrony with theplayback device(s) in the particular zone. Analogously, a “group” iconmay be provided within a graphical representation of a zone group. Inthis case, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring up options todeselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removed from the zonegroup. Other interactions and implementations for grouping andungrouping zones via a user interface such as the user interface 400 arealso possible. The representations of playback zones in the playbackzone region 420 may be dynamically updated as playback zone or zonegroup configurations are modified.

The playback status region 430 may include graphical representations ofaudio content that is presently being played, previously played, orscheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group. Theselected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished onthe user interface, such as within the playback zone region 420 and/orthe playback status region 430. The graphical representations mayinclude track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length,and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to knowwhen controlling the media playback system via the user interface 400.

The playback queue region 440 may include graphical representations ofaudio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playbackzone or zone group. In some embodiments, each playback zone or zonegroup may be associated with a playback queue containing informationcorresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playbackzone or zone group. For instance, each audio item in the playback queuemay comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resourcelocator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playbackdevice in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve theaudio item from a local audio content source or a networked audiocontent source, possibly for playback by the playback device.

In one example, a playlist may be added to a playback queue, in whichcase information corresponding to each audio item in the playlist may beadded to the playback queue. In another example, audio items in aplayback queue may be saved as a playlist. In a further example, aplayback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when theplayback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audiocontent, such as Internet radio that may continue to play untilotherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playbackdurations. In an alternative embodiment, a playback queue can includeInternet radio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “inuse” when the playback zone or zone group is playing those items. Otherexamples are also possible.

When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,”playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zonegroups may be cleared or re-associated. For example, if a first playbackzone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playbackzone including a second playback queue, the established zone group mayhave an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that containsaudio items from the first playback queue (such as if the secondplayback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audioitems from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zonewas added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio itemsfrom both the first and second playback queues. Subsequently, if theestablished zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zonemay be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or beassociated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audioitems from the playback queue associated with the established zone groupbefore the established zone group was ungrouped. Similarly, theresulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previoussecond playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue thatis empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associatedwith the established zone group before the established zone group wasungrouped. Other examples are also possible.

Referring back to the user interface 400 of FIG. 4, the graphicalrepresentations of audio content in the playback queue region 440 mayinclude track titles, artist names, track lengths, and other relevantinformation associated with the audio content in the playback queue. Inone example, graphical representations of audio content may beselectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage and/ormanipulate the playback queue and/or audio content represented in theplayback queue. For instance, a represented audio content may be removedfrom the playback queue, moved to a different position within theplayback queue, or selected to be played immediately, or after anycurrently playing audio content, among other possibilities. A playbackqueue associated with a playback zone or zone group may be stored in amemory on one or more playback devices in the playback zone or zonegroup, on a playback device that is not in the playback zone or zonegroup, and/or some other designated device.

The audio content sources region 450 may include graphicalrepresentations of selectable audio content sources from which audiocontent may be retrieved and played by the selected playback zone orzone group. Discussions pertaining to audio content sources may be foundin the following section.

d. Example Audio Content Sources

As indicated previously, one or more playback devices in a zone or zonegroup may be configured to retrieve for playback audio content (e.g.according to a corresponding URI or URL for the audio content) from avariety of available audio content sources. In one example, audiocontent may be retrieved by a playback device directly from acorresponding audio content source (e.g., a line-in connection). Inanother example, audio content may be provided to a playback device overa network via one or more other playback devices or network devices.

Example audio content sources may include a memory of one or moreplayback devices in a media playback system such as the media playbacksystem 100 of FIG. 1, local music libraries on one or more networkdevices (such as a control device, a network-enabled personal computer,or a networked-attached storage (NAS), for example), streaming audioservices providing audio content via the Internet (e.g., the cloud), oraudio sources connected to the media playback system via a line-in inputconnection on a playback device or network devise, among otherpossibilities.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added orremoved from a media playback system such as the media playback system100 of FIG. 1. In one example, an indexing of audio items may beperformed whenever one or more audio content sources are added, removedor updated. Indexing of audio items may involve scanning foridentifiable audio items in all folders/directory shared over a networkaccessible by playback devices in the media playback system, andgenerating or updating an audio content database containing metadata(e.g., title, artist, album, track length, among others) and otherassociated information, such as a URI or URL for each identifiable audioitem found. Other examples for managing and maintaining audio contentsources may also be possible.

The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices,playback zone configurations, and media content sources provide onlysome examples of operating environments within which functions andmethods described below may be implemented. Other operating environmentsand configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, andnetwork devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicableand suitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

III. Methods for Dynamic Display of Filter Criteria

As discussed above, embodiments described herein may provide a dynamicdisplay of filter criteria on a control device of a media playbacksystem.

Method 500 shown in FIG. 5 presents an embodiment of a method that canbe implemented within an operating environment involving, for example,the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1. In particular, the method 500may be performed on a control device of the media playback system 100,such as the control device 300 of FIG. 3. In some implementations, acomputing system (e.g., a cloud server) in communication with thecontrol device may perform aspects of the method 500. The method 500 mayinclude one or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated byone or more of blocks 502-508. Although the blocks are illustrated insequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/orin a different order than those described herein. Also, the variousblocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additionalblocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

In addition, for the method 500 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, the flowchart shows functionality and operation of onepossible implementation of present embodiments. In this regard, eachblock may represent a module, a segment, or a portion of program code,which includes one or more instructions executable by a processor forimplementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Theprogram code may be stored on any type of computer-readable medium, forexample, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive. Thecomputer-readable medium may include non-transitory computer-readablemedium, for example, such as computer-readable media that stores datafor short periods of time like register memory, processor cache andRandom Access Memory (RAM). The computer-readable medium may alsoinclude non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent long termstorage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. Thecomputer-readable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatilestorage systems. The computer-readable medium may be considered acomputer-readable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storagedevice. In addition, for the method 500 and other processes and methodsdisclosed herein, each block in FIG. 5 may represent circuitry that iswired to perform the specific logical functions in the process.

For clarity, the method 500 is described herein with reference to FIGS.6A-6B and FIGS. 7A-7C. It should be understood, however, that this isfor purposes of example and explanation only and that the operations ofthe method 500 are not limited to these figures.

The method 500 begins at block 502 with causing a graphical display of acomputing device to display (i) a first set of filter criteria and (ii)search results that include at least a plurality of media-sourceidentifiers that identify a plurality of respective media sources. Atblock 504, the method 500 involves receiving by the computing deviceselection data that indicates a selection of one of the plurality ofmedia-source identifiers. At block 506, the method involves determining,by the computing device, a second set of filter criteria based on theselected media-source identifier, where the second set of filtercriteria is different from the first set of filter criteria. At block508, the method involves causing the graphical display to display thedetermined second set of filter criteria. Each of the blocks shown withrespect to FIG. 5 is discussed in further detail below.

a. Causing Graphical Display to Display First Set of Filter Criteria &Search Results

The method 500 begins at block 502 with causing a graphical display of acomputing device to display (i) a first set of filter criteria and (ii)search results that include at least a plurality of media-sourceidentifiers that identify a plurality of respective media sources. Forexample, the control device 300 may cause a graphical display of thecontrol device 300 (e.g., the user interface 308) to display the firstset of filter criteria and the search results.

In practice, before this function occurs, one or more functions may beperformed at the control device 300. In particular, the control device300 may first receive search data that indicates a search related to amedia item. The control device 300 receiving the search data may be theresult of the control device 300 receiving one or more user inputs thatindicate a search string (e.g., a term or phrase) that reflects a mediaitem that the user is attempting to locate. The search string mayindicate, for example, a complete or partial artist name (or band name),media-item title (e.g., track title), album title, genre, station name,playlist name, or the like.

In response to the search data, the control device 300 may perform asearch for media items and/or media-item information related to thesearch string. In one example, the control device 300 may perform such asearch by searching media libraries of one or more media sources. Thecontrol device 300 may then generate search result data based on thesearch. The search result data may identify one or more media sourceswhose media libraries include media-item information relevant to thesearch string, and the search result data may also identify media-iteminformation itself, such as one or more artist names, media-item titles,album titles, genres, station names, playlist names, show names,composer names, curator names (e.g., the name of a person, such as acelebrity, who creates playlists), or the like.

Furthermore, after the search, the control device 300 may determine afirst set of filter criteria that, when displayed to the user, mayprovide a mechanism by which the user may input a command to the controldevice 300 to filter the search result data. In particular, the firstset of filter criteria may be configured to allow the user to focusand/or organize the search result data. That is, the first set of filtercriteria may allow the user to view subset of the search result dataand/or organize the search result data based on certain classifications.For example, the first set of filter criteria may be configured to allowa user to filter the search result data by artist name, media-itemtitle, album title, genre, station name, playlist name, show name,composer name, people, and the like. Those of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that these are but a few examples of possible filtercriteria. Other examples are possible as well, and the specific filtercriteria are not critical to the embodiments described herein.

The control device 300 may determine the first set of filter criteria ina number of ways. In one example, the control device 300 may determinethe first set of filter criteria by obtaining information previouslystored in the control device 300, a playback device, or elsewhere. Inother examples, the control device 300 may determine the first set offilter criteria based on the media sources identified by the searchresult data. For instance, the control device 300 may store in thememory 304 filter criteria that the control device 300 has previouslyused in connection with a particular media source. The control device300 may then determine the first set of filter criteria by compiling thestored filter criteria data of each respective media source identifiedby the search result data.

Additionally or alternatively, this function may involve the controldevice 300 receiving filter-criteria information from one or more mediasources and then determining the first set of filter criteria based onthe received filter-criteria information. For instance, a given mediasource may provide a mechanism by which a user may search within a medialibrary of the given media source, and the given media source may alsoallow the user to filter search results using filter criteria unique tothe given media source. At some point in time, the control device 300may receive filter-criteria information from the given media source thatindicates filter criteria unique to the given media source. For example,the control device 300 may receive such information from the given mediasource the first time the control device 300 accesses the given mediaservice, such as when a user first registers the control device 300 withan account on the given media source. In other examples, the controldevice 300 may periodically receive filter-criteria information from amedia source, such as whenever the media source updates suchinformation. The control device 300 may receive such information frommultiple media sources and then determine the first set of filtercriteria based on the received information in a number of ways.

In one instance, determining the first set of filter criteria based onthe received filter-criteria information may involve the control device300 using the received filter-criteria information as the first set offilter criteria. That is, the first set of filter criteria may be thesame as the filter criteria unique to the media sources. In anotherinstance, this function may involve the control device 300 generatingone or more generic filter criteria based on the receivedfilter-criteria information. For example, filter-criteria informationfrom a first media source may indicate that the first media source usesa filter criteria of Song Name, while filter-criteria information from asecond media source may indicate that the second media source uses afilter criteria of Track Title. The control device 300 may be configuredto determine that Song Name and Track Title are similar in meaning, andfrom such determination, the control device 300 may generate a genericfilter criteria, such as Tracks that encompasses both Song Name andTrack Title. Other examples are also possible. The control device 300may perform such operations for each received filter-criteriainformation.

Additionally or alternatively, the control device 300 may determine thefirst set of filter criteria by obtaining user preference inputs thatindicate the user's preferences with respect to the first set of filtercriteria. For example, a user may select which of the first set offilter criteria are displayed. In such an example, the control device300 may store in the memory 304 any user preference data and obtain suchdata when the user performs a future search.

Alternatively, the first set of filter criteria may include the samefilter criteria regardless of the search string and resulting searchresult data. That is, in some examples, the first set of filter criteriamay be determined to be a predetermined set of default filter criteria.

In any event, after the control device 300 generates the search resultdata and determines the first set of filter criteria, the control device300 may cause a graphical display of the control device 300 to display afirst set of filter criteria and search results (e.g., displayed searchresult data). The first set of filter criteria and the search resultsmay be displayed in a variety of arrangements and may be displayed insuch a manner that a user may navigate to and otherwise interact withthe first set of filter criteria and/or aspects of the search results.

To illustrate, FIGS. 6A and 6B each show examples of graphical displaysaccording to the method 500. The control device 300 may cause graphicaldisplays 600 and 610 to display search results after receiving a userinput that indicated a search string of “bob j ones” at the userinterface 308. As shown, the graphical displays 600 and 610 each show afirst set of filter criteria 602, and search results that includemedia-source identifiers 604 and media-item information (e.g., artistnames) 606 that are organized by media source. In the present example,the search results are organized by artist name, as indicated by filterindicator 608 below the “Artists” criteria, but it should be understoodthat the search results may be organized according to any of the othercriteria of the first set of filter criteria 602. For example, selectingthe “Tracks” criteria may cause the search results to be organized anddisplayed by track title, and cause the filter indicator 608 to appearbelow the “Tracks” criteria. In particular, the search results mayinclude media-source identifiers of media sources that have media-itemswhose titles are relevant to “bob jones” and the correspondingmedia-item identifiers that identify such media items. Other examplesare possible as well.

As discussed above, the first set of filter criteria may allow the userto focus and/or organize the search result data. Accordingly, the firstset of filter criteria may be displayed in any manner that allows a userto filter the displayed search results. For example, the first set offilter criteria may take the form of a graphic and/or text and may beconfigured such that user may select one or more criteria from the firstset of filter criteria. Further, the first set of filter criteria may bedisplayed in such a manner that a user may navigate through or otherwiseinteract with the filter criteria. For example, the first set of filtercriteria may be displayed with a scroll bar or a drop-down list thatallows the user to navigate through the filter criteria. Other examplesare possible as well.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the first set of filter criteria 602 isdisplayed such that only a portion of the filter criteria is visible. Tothat end, the displayed first set of filter criteria 602 may beconfigured such that a user may navigate to portions of the filtercriteria that are not presently visible to the user. Such functionalityis depicted by comparing the first set of filter criteria 602 in FIGS.6A and 6B. For example, the first set of filter criteria may include“Artists”, “Tracks”, “Albums”, “Playlists”, “Stations”, “Shows”,“Genres”, “Composers”, and “People” (e.g., curator names). As shown inFIG. 6A, the first set of filter criteria 602 is displayed as including“Artists”, “Tracks”, and “Albums”, and a portion of “Playlists” is alsodisplayed. FIG. 6B shows the first set of filter criteria 602 showing“Playlists”, “Stations”, and “Shows”, and also a portion of “Genres” isshowing. The first set of filter criteria 602 shown in FIG. 6B may bethe result of a user scrolling the first set of filter criteria 602 fromFIG. 6A to the left. The first set of filter criteria 602 may bedisplayed in other ways as well.

As also discussed above, the search results include at least multiplemedia-source identifiers. A media-source identifier may be any mechanismthat identifies a given media source. As discussed above, there are manymedia sources, such as Pandora® Radio, Spotify®, Songza®, Slacker®Radio, Google Play™, and iTunes Radio℠, among others. A media-sourceidentifier operates to distinguish one media source from the others. Forexample, a media-source identifier may take the form of a graphic (e.g.,a logo associated with the media source) and/or text that distinguishesa given media source from other media sources. Further, a media-sourceidentifier may be configured such that a user may select themedia-source identifier and cause the graphical display to output a newdisplay. For example, a media-source identifier may include hyperlinkfunctionality such that, when selected, causes the control device 300 toautomatically output a different display.

Returning again to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the media-source identifiers 604identify streaming media sources, Service 1 and Service 2. Although onlytwo media-source identifiers are shown, the search results may includeadditional media-source identifiers and/or media-item information thatare not visible. Accordingly, the user may be able to navigate toportions of the search results that are not presently visible to theuser.

In addition to the aspects of the search results just discussed, thesearch results may include additional aspects as well. For example, thesearch results may include media-item information from the search resultdata, such as one or more artist names, album titles, genres, stationnames, playlist names, show names, composer names, and/or people, amongother examples. Such information may be displayed in a number ofmanners, such as by text and/or graphics.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the media-item information 606 may includeinformation relevant to the search string that caused the search resultsto be generated. In this example, the media-item information 606includes artist names relevant to the search string “bob jones”. Forinstance, the media-item information 606 includes artist names thatcontain either term from the search string, and the media-iteminformation 606 also includes artist names from other disciplines otherthan music, such as comedy. Furthermore, the media-item information 606may be displayed in a manner that emphasizes the search terms from thesearch string (e.g., by bolding such search terms). As also shown, themedia-item information 606 is displayed with both text and a graphicassociated with a given artist name. The media-item information 606 maybe displayed in other manners as well.

Additionally, the search results may include one or more media-itemidentifiers that identify one or more respective media items. Amedia-item identifier may be any mechanism that distinguishes a givenmedia item from other media items. For example, a media-item identifiermay take the form of text (e.g., the title of the media item) and/or agraphic (e.g., album art associated with the media item). Further, amedia-item identifier may be configured such that, when selected, thecontrol device 300 transmits a request to the corresponding media sourceto retrieve the media item. What is more, when a media-item identifieris selected, the control device 300 may display additional media-iteminformation related to the corresponding media item.

b. Receiving Selection Data

Returning back to FIG. 5, at block 504, the method 500 involvesreceiving by the computing device selection data that indicates aselection of one of the plurality of media-source identifiers. Forexample, the control device 300 may receive a user input at the userinterface 308 that indicates a selection of one of the media-sourceidentifiers 602. The user input may take the form of a touch input or avoice command, among other user input types. In this way, the user mayselect a media-source identifier to narrow the search results by a givenmedia source.

Accordingly, the control device 300 may then perform a filter operationwith the search result data. In particular, the control device 300 maygenerate filter result data that includes data from the search resultdata that is related to the media source identified by the selectedmedia-source identifier. The control device 300 may perform otheroperations as well.

c. Determining Second Set of Filter Criteria

After receiving the selection data, at block 506, the method involvesdetermining by the computing device a second set of filter criteriabased on the selected media-source identifier, where the second set offilter criteria is different from the first set of filter criteria. Thisfunction may be performed in a number of ways.

In one example, this function may involve the control device 300retrieving from the memory 304 filter criteria that the control device300 has previously associated as the second set of filter criteria inconnection with the media source identified by the selected media-sourceidentifier. In another example, this function may involve the controldevice 300 using filter-criteria information that the control device 300received from the media source identified by the selected media-sourceidentifier. In another example, this function may involve the controldevice 300 using filter-criteria information that the control device 300received from a playback device 200. Other examples are possible aswell.

In other examples, this function may involve the control device 300accessing received filter-criteria information and then mapping suchreceived information to control-device specific criteria. For instance,the control device 300 may have received from a media source and storedin the memory 304 filter-criteria information indicating that the mediasource uses a filter criteria of “Band Name”. The control device 300 maydetermine that that filter criteria maps to a control-device specificcriteria of “Artists” and may then use “Artists” as a criteria of thesecond set of filter criteria. The control device 300 may do the samefor any other filter-criteria information the control device 300 hasreceived from the media source identified by the selected media-sourceidentifier. In example implementations, a computing system (such as acloud server) or a different computing device (such as a playbackdevice) may perform the mapping functions and then transmit, perhapsperiodically, to the control device 300 the second set of filtercriteria.

Additionally or alternatively, the second set of filter criteria may bedetermined without regard to the first set of filter criteria. Forexample, the control device 300 may have determined a criteria of thefirst set of criteria to be “Tracks”. For instance, the control device300 may have generated a generic filter criteria of “Tracks” afterreceiving filter-criteria information from a first media sourceindicating that the first media source uses a filter criteria of “SongName” and filter-criteria information from a second media sourceindicating that the second media source uses a filter criteria of “TrackTitle”. In such an example, if the selected media-source identifiercorresponds to the first media source, the control device 300 may use“Song Name” in the second set of filter criteria even though the controldevice 300 used the generic search criteria “Tracks” in the first set offilter criteria. Other examples are also possible.

These are but a few examples of ways in which the second set of filtercriteria may be determined. Other examples are also possible. In anyevent, the second set of filter criteria is determined such that thesecond set of filter criteria is different from the first set of filtercriteria. For example, the second set of filter criteria may have moreor less criteria than the first set of filter criteria. Further, thesecond set of filter criteria may include different criteria terminologythan the first set of filter criteria. What is more, the second set offilter criteria may be ordered differently than the first set of filtercriteria (e.g., the second set of filter criteria may be “ranked” basedon the media source identified by the selected media-item identifier).Other example differences are also possible.

d. Causing Graphical Display to Display Second Set of Filter Criteria

Returning again to FIG. 5, at block 508, the method involves causing thegraphical display to display the determined second set of filtercriteria. For example, the control device 300 may cause the graphicaldisplay of the control device 300 (e.g., the user interface 308) todisplay the second set of filter criteria. The control device 300 maydisplay the second set of filter criteria in a number of ways and alongwith media-item information as well.

In one example, the control device 300 may display the second set offilter criteria in the same or a similar manner as the control device300 displayed the first set of filter criteria (e.g., both displayed viaa scroll bar). In other examples, the control device 300 may display thesecond set of filter criteria in a different manner than the first setof filter criteria (e.g., one displayed via a horizontal scroll bar andthe other displayed with a vertical scroll wheel). In this respect,because the second set of filter criteria is different than the firstset of filter criteria, the control device 300 will display to the usera different presentation with respect to the filter criteria. In anyevent, the second set of filter criteria may be configured withfunctionality similar to that of the first set of filter criteria asdiscussed above.

Furthermore, the control device 300 may cause the graphical display todisplay any of the media-item information discussed above along with thesecond set of filter criteria. In particular, the control device 300 maydisplay one or more media-item identifiers based on the selectedmedia-source identifier from block 504. For example, the control device300 may display media-item identifiers that identify media items thatmay be provided by the media source identified by the selectedmedia-source identifier. Other media-item information may be displayedas well.

To illustrate, FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C each show examples of graphicaldisplays according to the method 500. As shown, each graphical display700, 710, and 720 shows a second set of filter criteria 702, 712, and722 and filter results. Each filter result includes a media-sourceidentifier 704, 714, and 724 that corresponds to the selected media-itemidentifier from block 504 and media-item information (e.g., artistnames) 706, 716, and 726. The filter results are organized by artistname, as indicated by the filter indicators 708, 718, and 728 below the“Artists” criteria, but it should be understood that the filter resultsmay be organized according to any of the other criteria of therespective second set of filter criteria.

The graphical displays 700, 710, and 720 may be a result of a selectionof a media-source identifier from either of the graphical displays 600or 610 of FIGS. 6A and 6B, respectively. For example, the graphicaldisplay 700 of FIG. 7A may be a result of a user selecting themedia-source identifier 604 corresponding to Service 1. As shown, thesecond set of filter criteria 702 includes “Artists”, “Genres”, and“Tracks”, which are different criteria than those of the first set offilter criteria 602.

Similarly, the graphical display 710 of FIG. 7B may be a result of auser selecting the media-identifier 604 corresponding to Service 2. Asshown, the second set of filter criteria 712 is displayed including“Artists”, “Albums”, and “Composers”, and also a portion of “Tracks” isdisplayed. In line with the above discussion, the second set of filtercriteria 712 may be configured to be navigable such that the user mayview portions of the second set of filter criteria 712 that arepresently not visible. In any event, the second set of filter criteria712 is different than the first set of filter criteria 602.

Likewise, the graphical display 720 of FIG. 7C may be a result of a userselecting a media-identifier corresponding to Service 3 (not shown inFIGS. 6A and 6B). As depicted, the second set of filter criteria 722includes “Artists” and “Playlists”, which is a different set of criteriathan the first set of filter criteria 602.

After the control device 300 causes the graphical display to display thedetermined second set of filter criteria, various operations may occurat the control device 300. For example, the control device 300 mayreceive a user input indicating a selection of one of the criteria fromthe second set of filter criteria or a selection of one of themedia-item information. In response to such an input, the control device300 may cause the graphical display to output a new display and/or maycontact a media source to obtain a media-item. The control device 300may perform other operations as well.

IV. Conclusion

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyway(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

As indicated above, examples provided herein relate to providing adynamic display of filter criteria on a control device of a mediaplayback system. In one aspect, a method is provided. The methodinvolves: (a) causing a graphical display of a computing device todisplay (i) a first set of filter criteria and (ii) search results thatcomprise a plurality of media-source identifiers that identify aplurality of respective media sources, (b) receiving by the computingdevice selection data that indicates a selection of one of the pluralityof media-source identifiers, (c) determining by the computing device asecond set of filter criteria based on the selected media-sourceidentifier, where the second set of filter criteria is different fromthe first set of filter criteria, and (d) causing the graphical displayto display the determined second set of filter criteria.

In another aspect, a device is provided. The device includes a graphicaldisplay, an input interface, a non-transitory computer-readable medium,and program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readablemedium and executable by at least one processor to cause the computingdevice to: (a) cause the graphical display to display (i) a first set offilter criteria and (ii) search results that comprise a plurality ofmedia-source identifiers that identify a plurality of respective mediasources, (b) receive by the input interface selection data thatindicates a selection of one of the plurality of media-sourceidentifiers, (c) determine a second set of filter criteria based on theselected media-source identifier, where the second set of filtercriteria is different from the first set of filter criteria, and (d)cause the graphical display to display the determined second set offilter criteria.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable memory isprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium havinginstructions stored thereon that are executable by at least oneprocessor. The instructions include instructions for (a) causing agraphical display of a computing device to display (i) a first set offilter criteria and (ii) search results that comprise a plurality ofmedia-source identifiers that identify a plurality of respective mediasources, (b) receiving by the computing device selection data thatindicates a selection of one of the plurality of media-sourceidentifiers, (c) determining by the computing device a second set offilter criteria based on the selected media-source identifier, where thesecond set of filter criteria is different from the first set of filtercriteria, and (d) causing the graphical display to display thedetermined second set of filter criteria.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of aninvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method to be performed by a computing device,the method comprising: receiving input data indicating a search string;retrieving first search results from a plurality of streaming mediaservices, wherein the first search results comprise one or more of (i)artists, (ii) audio tracks (iii) albums, (iv) playlists and (v) internetradio stations each corresponding to the search string; causing agraphical display to display a graphical interface comprising: a firstregion that includes selectable controls corresponding to respectivefirst filter criteria of a first set of filter criteria for filteringthe retrieved first search results according to respective streamingmedia services of the plurality of streaming media services; and asecond region that includes a graphical representation of (i) a portionof the first search results corresponding to a given first filtercriteria, wherein the portion comprises search results from multiplestreaming media services from the plurality of streaming media services,and (ii) metadata identifiers that separate the retrieved first searchresults into sets corresponding to respective types of metadata, whereineach metadata identifier identifies a respective type of metadata;receiving input data indicating selection of a given selectable controlfrom among the displayed selectable controls within the first region ofthe graphical interface, wherein the given selectable controlcorresponds to a particular streaming media service from among theplurality of streaming media services; in response to receiving theinput data indicating selection of the given selectable control, causingthe graphical display to update the graphical interface to display: thefirst region that includes selectable controls corresponding torespective first filter criteria of the first set of filter criteria forfiltering the retrieved first search results according to the respectivestreaming media services of the plurality of streaming media services;and in place of the graphical representation of the portion of the firstsearch results corresponding to the given first filter criteria withinthe second region of the graphical interface, a graphical representationof a portion of second search results, wherein the second search resultsare from the particular streaming media service and comprise one or moreof (i) artists, (ii) audio tracks (iii) albums, (iv) playlists and (v)internet radio stations each corresponding to the search string.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the given first filter criteria correspondsto all streaming media services of the plurality of streaming mediaservices.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: retrieving thesecond search results from the particular streaming media service,wherein the second search results comprises additional search resultsfrom the particular streaming media service as compared with the firstsearch results.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displayinga search control on the graphical interface, wherein receiving the inputdata indicating the search string comprises receiving the input dataindicating the search string via the displayed search control, andwherein the causing the graphical display to display the graphicalinterface comprises causing the graphical display to display the searchstring in the search control concurrently with the first region and thesecond region.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the selectable controlswithin the first region are first selectable controls, wherein thesecond region further includes second selectable controls correspondingto respective types of metadata, and wherein the method furthercomprises: receiving, via the computing device, input data indicatingselection of a given second selectable control from among the displayedsecond selectable controls within the second region of the graphicalinterface, wherein the given second selectable control corresponds to aparticular type of metadata; and in response to receiving the input dataindicating selection of the given second selectable control, causing,via the computing device, the graphical display to update the graphicalinterface to display: in place of the graphical representation of theportion of the first search results corresponding to the given firstfilter criteria within the second region of the graphical interface, agraphical representation of a portion of third search results, whereinthe third search results comprise only one of (i) artists, (ii) audiotracks (iii) albums, (iv) playlists and (v) internet radio stations eachcorresponding to the search string.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinretrieving the first search results from the plurality of streamingmedia services comprises retrieving a subset of search results from theplurality of streaming media services, the subset corresponding tosearch results most relevant to the search string from each streamingmedia service of the plurality of streaming media services.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the first search results further comprise oneor more of (i) genres, (ii) composers, and (iii) podcasts eachcorresponding to the search string.
 8. A tangible non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that areexecutable by at least one processor of a computing device to cause thecomputing device to perform functions comprising: receiving input dataindicating a search string; retrieving first search results from aplurality of streaming media services, wherein the first search resultscomprise one or more of (i) artists, (ii) audio tracks (iii) albums,(iv) playlists and (v) internet radio stations each corresponding to thesearch string; causing a graphical display to display a graphicalinterface comprising: a first region that includes selectable controlscorresponding to respective first filter criteria of a first set offilter criteria for filtering the retrieved first search resultsaccording to respective streaming media services of the plurality ofstreaming media services; and a second region that includes a graphicalrepresentation of (i) a portion of the first search resultscorresponding to a given first filter criteria, wherein the portioncomprises search results from multiple streaming media services from theplurality of streaming media services, and (ii) metadata identifiersthat separate the retrieved first search results into sets correspondingto respective types of metadata, wherein each metadata identifieridentifies a respective type of metadata; receiving input dataindicating selection of a given selectable control from among thedisplayed selectable controls within the first region of the graphicalinterface, wherein the given selectable control corresponds to aparticular streaming media service from among the plurality of streamingmedia services; in response to receiving the input data indicatingselection of the given selectable control, causing the graphical displayto update the graphical interface to display: the first region thatincludes selectable controls corresponding to respective first filtercriteria of the first set of filter criteria for filtering the retrievedfirst search results according to the respective streaming mediaservices of the plurality of streaming media services; and in place ofthe graphical representation of the portion of the first search resultscorresponding to the given first filter criteria within the secondregion of the graphical interface, a graphical representation of aportion of second search results, wherein the second search results arefrom the particular streaming media service and comprise one or more of(i) artists, (ii) audio tracks (iii) albums, (iv) playlists and (v)internet radio stations each corresponding to the search string.
 9. Thetangible non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein thegiven first filter criteria corresponds to all streaming media servicesof the plurality of streaming media services.
 10. The tangiblenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein thefunctions further comprise: retrieving the second search results fromthe particular streaming media service, wherein the second searchresults comprises additional search results from the particularstreaming media service as compared with the first search results. 11.The tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, whereinthe functions further comprise: displaying a search control on thegraphical interface, wherein receiving the input data indicating thesearch string comprises receiving the input data indicating the searchstring via the displayed search control, and wherein the causing thegraphical display to display the graphical interface comprises causingthe graphical display to display the search string in the search controlconcurrently with the first region and the second region.
 12. Thetangible non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein theselectable controls within the first region are first selectablecontrols, wherein the second region further includes second selectablecontrols corresponding to respective types of metadata, and wherein thefunctions further comprise: receiving, via the computing device, inputdata indicating selection of a given second selectable control fromamong the displayed second selectable controls within the second regionof the graphical interface, wherein the given second selectable controlcorresponds to a particular type of metadata; and in response toreceiving the input data indicating selection of the given secondselectable control, causing, via the computing device, the graphicaldisplay to update the graphical interface to display: in place of thegraphical representation of the portion of the first search resultscorresponding to the given first filter criteria within the secondregion of the graphical interface, a graphical representation of aportion of third search results, wherein the third search resultscomprise only one of (i) artists, (ii) audio tracks (iii) albums, (iv)playlists and (v) internet radio stations each corresponding to thesearch string.
 13. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 8, wherein retrieving the first search results from theplurality of streaming media services comprises retrieving a subset ofsearch results from the plurality of streaming media services, thesubset corresponding to search results most relevant to the searchstring from each streaming media service of the plurality of streamingmedia services.
 14. The tangible non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 8, wherein the first search results further comprise one ormore of (i) genres, (ii) composers, and (iii) podcasts eachcorresponding to the search string.
 15. A computing device comprising:at least one processor; a graphical display; data storage storinginstructions executable by the at least one processor to cause thecomputing device to perform a functions comprising: receiving input dataindicating a search string; retrieving first search results from aplurality of streaming media services, wherein the first search resultscomprise one or more of (i) artists, (ii) audio tracks (iii) albums,(iv) playlists and (v) internet radio stations each corresponding to thesearch string; causing the graphical display to display a graphicalinterface comprising: a first region that includes selectable controlscorresponding to respective first filter criteria of a first set offilter criteria for filtering the retrieved first search resultsaccording to respective streaming media services of the plurality ofstreaming media services; and a second region that includes a graphicalrepresentation of (i) a portion of the first search resultscorresponding to a given first filter criteria, wherein the portioncomprises search results from multiple streaming media services from theplurality of streaming media services, and (ii) metadata identifiersthat separate the retrieved first search results into sets correspondingto respective types of metadata, wherein each metadata identifieridentifies a respective type of metadata; receiving input dataindicating selection of a given selectable control from among thedisplayed selectable controls within the first region of the graphicalinterface, wherein the given selectable control corresponds to aparticular streaming media service from among the plurality of streamingmedia services; in response to receiving the input data indicatingselection of the given selectable control, causing the graphical displayto update the graphical interface to display: the first region thatincludes selectable controls corresponding to respective first filtercriteria of the first set of filter criteria for filtering the retrievedfirst search results according to the respective streaming mediaservices of the plurality of streaming media services; and in place ofthe graphical representation of the portion of the first search resultscorresponding to the given first filter criteria within the secondregion of the graphical interface, a graphical representation of aportion of second search results, wherein the second search results arefrom the particular streaming media service and comprise one or more of(i) artists, (ii) audio tracks (iii) albums, (iv) playlists and (v)internet radio stations each corresponding to the search string.
 16. Thecomputing device of claim 15, wherein the given first filter criteriacorresponds to all streaming media services of the plurality ofstreaming media services.
 17. The computing device of claim 15, whereinthe functions further comprise: retrieving the second search resultsfrom the particular streaming media service, wherein the second searchresults comprises additional search results from the particularstreaming media service as compared with the first search results. 18.The computing device of claim 15, wherein the functions furthercomprise: displaying a search control on the graphical interface,wherein receiving the input data indicating the search string comprisesreceiving the input data indicating the search string via the displayedsearch control, and wherein the causing the graphical display to displaythe graphical interface comprises causing the graphical display todisplay the search string in the search control concurrently with thefirst region and the second region.
 19. The computing device of claim15, wherein the selectable controls within the first region are firstselectable controls, wherein the second region further includes secondselectable controls corresponding to respective types of metadata, andwherein the functions further comprise: receiving, via the computingdevice, input data indicating selection of a given second selectablecontrol from among the displayed second selectable controls within thesecond region of the graphical interface, wherein the given secondselectable control corresponds to a particular type of metadata; and inresponse to receiving the input data indicating selection of the givensecond selectable control, causing, via the computing device, thegraphical display to update the graphical interface to display: in placeof the graphical representation of the portion of the first searchresults corresponding to the given first filter criteria within thesecond region of the graphical interface, a graphical representation ofa portion of third search results, wherein the third search resultscomprise only one of (i) artists, (ii) audio tracks (iii) albums, (iv)playlists and (v) internet radio stations each corresponding to thesearch string.
 20. The computing device of claim 15, wherein retrievingthe first search results from the plurality of streaming media servicescomprises retrieving a subset of search results from the plurality ofstreaming media services, the subset corresponding to search resultsmost relevant to the search string from each streaming media service ofthe plurality of streaming media services.